The news that three Indian sailors have been killed in a US strike on an oil tanker is not merely a tragedy. It is a verdict on the moral and strategic bankruptcy of the Western powers who now treat the high seas as their personal shooting gallery. We are witnessing the slow collapse of international maritime law, a pillar of civilisation that kept commerce flowing for centuries.
Now, in the name of counter-piracy or some vague national security doctrine, we bomb civilian vessels with impunity. The death of these men is a grim echo of the sinking of the Lusitania, a moment that plunged the world into chaos. Except this time, there is no pretence of justice.
The US and its allies act as judge, jury, and executioner on the oceans. The Indian government, for all its brave talk of a free and open Indo-Pacific, must ask itself: how long will it tolerate the slaughter of its citizens by the very powers it courts? Or will it, like the proverbial frog in boiling water, simply adjust to the rising temperature of global disorder?
The answer, I suspect, will reveal whether India has the spine to stand against the new imperialism of the West, or whether it will remain a compliant suitor in a game where its sailors are collateral damage.
